Unity Between Generations

Tensions between generations aren't new, they are very evident in the story of Scripture.

Paul had to instruct Timothy, don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, which suggests that some were at least tempted to. In the days of King Rehoboam, his younger advisors dismissed the wisdom of their elders, encouraging the king to rule with an iron fist, and their council sadly split the kingdom in two, and so generational tension is real.

But it doesn't have to divide our churches.

God has given us all we need to contend for unity. But to relate well across generations, let's first appreciate how they are formed.

How are generations formed?

Educational psychologists tell us that our early years, particularly our adolescence and young adulthood, set calibration points that we judge everything else by for the whole of the rest of our lives.

The music that sounds normal to us, the tech that feels intuitive, the social changes that seem normal or alarming, all gets set, all gets calibrated during our formative years.

There's a biblical example of this in Judges chapter 2. After the generation that entered the promised land with Joshua dies, we're told, another generation grew up who neither knew the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. This wasn't just about forgetting facts, it was a fundamental difference in perspective. This new generation had grown up under different conditions.

So we make a first step towards unity as we think, perhaps older generations aren't stuck in the past, but are drawing upon hard-worn wisdom. Perhaps younger generations aren't simply being rebellious, but are seeking to respond faithfully to the world they inhabit, which is subtly different from those who are older to them.

Yet if our church is to live out their calling, understanding alone isn't enough.

Step towards each other

We need to hear the invitation to actively step towards each other, and our churches are uniquely positioned to do this, and God has given us resources to live out intergenerational unity. Chief among them is the gospel itself.

Unlike any other institution, local churches bring people together across the human lifespan. We don't gather because we're at the same age or stage, we gather because we have something deeper in common. We're in Christ.

Written into God's gospel design then for our local churches is that generations pass on the gospel to those who succeed them. But we can know further benefits of intergenerational ministry today as well.

I think often members of older generations carry the memory of God's faithfulness. Younger believers bring fresh energy, new questions, the ability to see the blind spots that others have missed. Often I think they have a more intuitive grasp of what it means to be Jesus' disciples in an increasingly post-Christian culture.

And so, whilst Titus 2 envisions older women teaching younger women, the principle works in every direction. We're meant to learn from each other.

What's asked of us is that we're humble, to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit as we relate.

Relating well

If we're from older generations, it means asking genuine questions about the world our younger members inhabit. If we're younger, it means seeking out the stories and wisdom of others instead of assuming irrelevance.

In a world in which every other young person I meet wants a mentor, perhaps our churches might facilitate contexts in which generations can genuinely learn from each other.

It means resisting lazy caricatures and refusing to give in to the fear of being made to feel stupid by those who might expose our blind spots, resting in Jesus who is our justification, preferring the hard work of relationship. There is grace for us in our weakness.

In a world in which people are increasingly sorted into echo chambers, I believe our churches can model something radical: communities of different generations who don't merely coexist, but who actively live out who we are, the people of God.

So the question isn't whether or not we'll encounter generational difference in our churches, we will.

The question is whether we'll let those differences divide us or whether we'll lean into our God-given resources, step towards each other in love and in doing so show the world what the people of Christ really looks like.